Manual on the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System Annex IV to the WMO Technical Regulations 2017 edition WEATHER CLIMATE WATER WMO-No. 485
Manual on the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System Annex IV to the WMO Technical Regulations 2017 edition WMO-No. 485
EDITORIAL NOTE The following typographical practice has been followed: Standard practices and procedures have been printed in bold. Recommended practices and procedures have been printed in regular font. Notes have been printed in smaller type. METEOTERM, the WMO terminology database, may be consulted at http://public.wmo.int/en/ resources/meteoterm. Readers who copy hyperlinks by selecting them in the text should be aware that additional spaces may appear immediately following http://, https://, ftp://, mailto:, and after slashes (/), dashes (-), periods (.) and unbroken sequences of characters (letters and numbers). These spaces should be removed from the pasted URL. The correct URL is displayed when hovering over the link or when clicking on the link and then copying it from the browser. WMO-No. 485 World Meteorological Organization, 2017 The right of publication in print, electronic and any other form and in any language is reserved by WMO. Short extracts from WMO publications may be reproduced without authorization, provided that the complete source is clearly indicated. Editorial correspondence and requests to publish, reproduce or translate this publication in part or in whole should be addressed to: Chairperson, Publications Board World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 7 bis, avenue de la Paix Tel.: +41 (0) 22 730 84 03 P.O. Box 2300 Fax: +41 (0) 22 730 81 17 CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Email: publications@wmo.int ISBN 978-92-63-10485-4 NOTE The designations employed in WMO publications and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WMO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by WMO in preference to others of a similar nature which are not mentioned or advertised.
PUBLICATION REVISION TRACK RECORD Date Part/ chapter/ section Purpose of amendment Proposed by Approved by
CONTENTS GENERAL PROVISIONS.... INTRODUCTION... Page ix xix PART I. OUTLINE OF THE WMO GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM 1 1.1 PURPOSE AND SUPPORTED ACTIVITIES... 1 1.1.1 General description... 1 1.1.2 Activities supported by the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System... 1 1.2 GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM CENTRES... 2 1.2.1 Definitions... 2 1.2.2 National Meteorological Centres... 2 1.2.3 Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres... 3 1.2.4 World Meteorological Centres... 3 1.2.5 Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre Networks... 3 1.2.6 Designation process... 3 1.3 COORDINATION WITH OTHER SYSTEMS OR PROGRAMMES... 4 APPENDIX 1.1. DEFINITIONS OF METEOROLOGICAL FORECASTING RANGES... 5 PART II. SPECIFICATIONS OF GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM ACTIVITIES... 6 2.1 OVERALL REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS... 6 2.1.1 Quality control of incoming observations... 6 2.1.2 Data collection and product dissemination... 7 2.1.3 Long-term storage of data and products... 7 2.1.4 Product verification and the performance of Global Data-processing and Forecasting centres... 7 2.1.5 Documentation on system and products... 7 2.1.6 Training... 8 2.1.7 Reporting on compliance... 8 2.1.8 Graphical representation of observations, analyses and forecasts... 8 2.1.8.2 Standard sets of graphical representation... 8 2.1.8.3 Analysis and forecasting practices... 9 2.1.8.4 Practices for pictorial representation of information on meteorological charts and diagrams... 9 2.2 SPECIFICATION OF ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR INTRODUCING MODIFICATIONS... 12 2.2.1 General-purpose activities... 12 2.2.1.1 Global deterministic numerical weather prediction... 12 2.2.1.2 Limited-area deterministic numerical weather prediction... 12 2.2.1.3 Global ensemble numerical weather prediction... 13 2.2.1.4 Limited-area ensemble numerical weather prediction... 14 2.2.1.5 Global numerical long-range prediction... 14 2.2.1.6 Numerical ocean wave prediction... 15 2.2.1.7 Global numerical ocean prediction... 16 2.2.1.8 Nowcasting... 17 2.2.2 Specialized activities... 17 2.2.2.1 Regional climate prediction and monitoring... 17 2.2.2.2 Coordination of multi-model ensemble prediction for longrange forecasts... 19 2.2.2.3 Annual to decadal climate prediction... 19 2.2.2.4 Coordination of annual to decadal climate prediction... 20 2.2.2.5 Regional severe weather forecasting... 21
vi MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM 2.2.2.6 Tropical cyclone forecasting, including marine-related hazards... 22 2.2.2.7 Nuclear environmental emergency response... 23 2.2.2.8 Non-nuclear environmental emergency response... 24 2.2.2.9 Atmospheric sandstorm and duststorm forecasts... 25 2.2.2.10 Volcano watch services for international air navigation... 26 2.2.2.11 Marine meteorological services... 26 2.2.2.12 Marine environmental emergencies... 26 2.2.3 Non-real-time coordination activities... 26 2.2.3.1 Coordination of deterministic numerical weather prediction verification... 26 2.2.3.2 Coordination of Ensemble Prediction System verification... 27 2.2.3.3 Coordination of long-range forecast verification... 28 2.2.3.4 Coordination of wave forecast verification... 29 2.2.3.5 Coordination of tropical cyclone forecast verification... 30 2.2.3.6 Coordination of observation monitoring... 31 APPENDIX 2.1.1. TECHNIQUES FOR MONITORING THE QUALITY OF OBSERVATIONS... 33 APPENDIX 2.1.2. PROCEDURES AND FORMATS FOR THE EXCHANGE OF MONITORING RESULTS.... 34 APPENDIX 2.2.1. MANDATORY AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GLOBAL DETERMINISTIC NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION PRODUCTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM... 43 APPENDIX 2.2.2. CHARACTERISTICS OF GLOBAL DETERMINISTIC NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION SYSTEMS... 44 APPENDIX 2.2.3. MANDATORY AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LIMITED-AREA DETERMINISTIC NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION PRODUCTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM... 45 APPENDIX 2.2.4. CHARACTERISTICS OF LIMITED-AREA DETERMINISTIC NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION SYSTEMS... 46 APPENDIX 2.2.5. MANDATORY AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GLOBAL ENSEMBLE PREDICTION SYSTEM PRODUCTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM.... 47 APPENDIX 2.2.6. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GLOBAL ENSEMBLE PREDICTION SYSTEM. 48 APPENDIX 2.2.7. MANDATORY AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LIMITED-AREA ENSEMBLE PREDICTION SYSTEM PRODUCTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM.... 50 APPENDIX 2.2.8. CHARACTERISTICS OF LIMITED-AREA ENSEMBLE PREDICTION SYSTEM... 51 APPENDIX 2.2.9. MANDATORY AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GLOBAL NUMERICAL LONG-RANGE PREDICTION PRODUCTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM... 53 APPENDIX 2.2.10. CHARACTERISTICS OF GLOBAL NUMERICAL LONG-RANGE PREDICTION SYSTEMS.... 55 APPENDIX 2.2.11. MANDATORY AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED NUMERICAL OCEAN WAVE PREDICTION PRODUCTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM.... 56 Page
CONTENTS vii APPENDIX 2.2.12. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NUMERICAL OCEAN WAVE PREDICTION SYSTEMS.... 57 APPENDIX 2.2.13. MANDATORY AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GLOBAL NUMERICAL OCEAN PREDICTION PRODUCTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM.... 58 APPENDIX 2.2.14. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GLOBAL NUMERICAL OCEAN PREDICTION SYSTEMS.... 59 APPENDIX 2.2.15. CHARACTERISTICS OF NOWCASTING SYSTEMS... 60 APPENDIX 2.2.16. REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTRE MANDATORY FUNCTIONS... 61 APPENDIX 2.2.17. MINIMUM INFORMATION TO BE AVAILABLE FROM THE LEAD CENTRE(S) FOR LONG-RANGE FORECAST MULTI-MODEL ENSEMBLES... 63 APPENDIX 2.2.18. ACCESS TO GLOBAL PRODUCING CENTRE DATA AND VISUALIZATION PRODUCTS HELD BY THE LEAD CENTRE(S) FOR LONG-RANGE FORECAST MULTI-MODEL ENSEMBLES... 64 APPENDIX 2.2.19. ACCESS TO DATA AND VISUALIZATION PRODUCTS HELD BY THE LEAD CENTRE(S) FOR ANNUAL TO DECADAL CLIMATE PREDICTION... 65 APPENDIX 2.2.20. HINDCAST AND FORECAST DATA TO BE COLLECTED BY LEAD CENTRES AND PRODUCTS TO BE GENERATED AND DISPLAYED... 66 APPENDIX 2.2.21. VERIFICATION INFORMATION TO BE COLLECTED BY THE LEAD CENTRES AND PRODUCTS TO BE DISPLAYED... 67 APPENDIX 2.2.22. ACTIVATION OF THE SUPPORT FOR NUCLEAR EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND STANDARDS IN THE PROVISION OF INTERNATIONAL SERVICES BY REGIONAL SPECIALIZED METEOROLOGICAL CENTRES... 68 APPENDIX 2.2.23. MANDATORY PRODUCTS AND GENERAL RULES FOR DISPLAYING PRODUCTS (NUCLEAR)... 71 APPENDIX 2.2.24. DEFAULT EMISSION SOURCE PARAMETERS (NUCLEAR)... 73 APPENDIX 2.2.25. CHARACTERISTICS OF ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT AND DISPERSION MODELLING SYSTEMS (NUCLEAR)... 74 APPENDIX 2.2.26. REQUEST FORM TO ACTIVATE REGIONAL SPECIALIZED METEOROLOGICAL CENTRE SUPPORT (NUCLEAR)... 75 APPENDIX 2.2.27. SPECIFICATIONS FOR SUPPORT TO THE COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN TREATY ORGANIZATION... 77 APPENDIX 2.2.28. ACTIVATION OF SUPPORT FOR NON-NUCLEAR ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE... 81 APPENDIX 2.2.29. MANDATORY LIST OF NON-NUCLEAR ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE... 82 APPENDIX 2.2.30. DEFAULT EMISSION SOURCE PARAMETERS (NON-NUCLEAR)... 83 APPENDIX 2.2.31. CHARACTERISTICS OF ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT AND DISPERSION MODELLING SYSTEMS (NON-NUCLEAR)... 84 Page
viii MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM APPENDIX 2.2.32. REQUEST FORM TO ACTIVATE REGIONAL SPECIALIZED METEOROLOGICAL CENTRE SUPPORT (NON-NUCLEAR)... 85 APPENDIX 2.2.33. MANDATORY ATMOSPHERIC SANDSTORM AND DUSTSTORM PRODUCTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM... 88 APPENDIX 2.2.34. STANDARDIZED VERIFICATION OF DETERMINISTIC NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION PRODUCTS... 89 APPENDIX 2.2.35. STANDARD VERIFICATION MEASURES OF THE GLOBAL ENSEMBLE PREDICTION SYSTEM... 96 APPENDIX 2.2.36. STANDARDIZED VERIFICATION SYSTEM FOR LONG-RANGE FORECASTS.... 100 APPENDIX 2.2.37. STANDARDIZED VERIFICATION OF WAVE FORECASTS... 104 APPENDIX 2.2.38. STANDARDIZED VERIFICATION OF TROPICAL CYCLONE FORECAST PRODUCTS.... 106 ATTACHMENT 2.2.1. ADDITIONAL GLOBAL NUMERICAL LONG-RANGE PREDICTION PRODUCTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM... 109 ATTACHMENT 2.2.2. ADDITIONAL HIGHLY RECOMMENDED REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTRE FUNCTIONS.... 110 ATTACHMENT 2.2.3. GUIDELINES FOR FEEDBACK FROM REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTRES AND NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL SERVICES TO GLOBAL PRODUCING CENTRES.... 112 ATTACHMENT 2.2.4. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE AVAILABLE FROM THE LEAD CENTRE(S) FOR LONG-RANGE FORECAST MULTI-MODEL ENSEMBLRES... 113 ATTACHMENT 2.2.5. USER INTERPRETATION GUIDE FOR NON-NUCLEAR ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT AND DISPERSION MODELLING PRODUCTS PROVIDED BY REGIONAL SPECIALIZED METEOROLOGICAL CENTRES... 114 PART III. CURRENT DESIGNATED GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM CENTRES... 116 Page
GENERAL PROVISIONS 1. The Technical Regulations (WMO-No. 49) of the World Meteorological Organization are presented in three volumes: Volume I General meteorological standards and recommended practices Volume II Meteorological service for international air navigation Volume III Hydrology Purpose of the Technical Regulations 2. The Technical Regulations are determined by the World Meteorological Congress in accordance with Article 8 (d) of the Convention. 3. These Regulations are designed: (b) (c) To facilitate cooperation in meteorology and hydrology among Members; To meet, in the most effective manner, specific needs in the various fields of application of meteorology and operational hydrology in the international sphere; To ensure adequate uniformity and standardization in the practices and procedures employed in achieving and (b) above. Types of Regulations 4. The Technical Regulations comprise standard practices and procedures and recommended practices and procedures. 5. The definitions of these two types of Regulations are as follows: The standard practices and procedures: (b) (c) Shall be the practices and procedures that Members are required to follow or implement; Shall have the status of requirements in a technical resolution in respect of which Article 9 (b) of the Convention is applicable; Shall invariably be distinguished by the use of the term shall in the English text, and by suitable equivalent terms in the Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish texts. The recommended practices and procedures: (b) (c) Shall be the practices and procedures with which Members are urged to comply; Shall have the status of recommendations to Members, to which Article 9 (b) of the Convention shall not be applied; Shall be distinguished by the use of the term should in the English text (except where otherwise provided by decision of Congress) and by suitable equivalent terms in the Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish texts. 6. In accordance with the above definitions, Members shall do their utmost to implement the standard practices and procedures. In accordance with Article 9 (b) of the Convention and in conformity with Regulation 128 of the General Regulations, Members shall formally notify the Secretary-General, in writing, of their intention to apply the standard practices and procedures of the Technical Regulations, except those for which they have lodged a specific
x MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM deviation. Members shall also inform the Secretary-General, at least three months in advance, of any change in the degree of their implementation of a standard practice or procedure as previously notified and the effective date of the change. 7. Members are urged to comply with recommended practices and procedures, but it is not necessary to notify the Secretary-General of non-observance except with regard to practices and procedures contained in Volume II. 8. In order to clarify the status of the various Regulations, the standard practices and procedures are distinguished from the recommended practices and procedures by a difference in typographical practice, as indicated in the editorial note. Status of annexes and appendices 9. The following annexes to the Technical Regulations (Volumes I to III), also called Manuals, are published separately and contain regulatory material having the status of standard and/or recommended practices and procedures: I International Cloud Atlas (WMO-No. 407) Manual on the Observation of Clouds and Other Meteors, sections 1, 2.1.1, 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.2.2, 1 to 4 in 2.3.1 to 2.3.10 (for example, 2.3.1.1, 2.3.1.2, etc.), 2.8.2, 2.8.3, 2.8.5, 3.1 and the definitions (in grey-shaded boxes) of 3.2; II Manual on Codes (WMO-No. 306), Volume I; III Manual on the Global Telecommunication System (WMO-No. 386); IV Manual on the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System (WMO-No. 485); V Manual on the Global Observing System (WMO-No. 544); VI Manual on Marine Meteorological Services (WMO-No. 558), Volume I; VII Manual on the WMO Information System (WMO-No. 1060); VIII Manual on the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WMO-No. 1160). These annexes (Manuals) are established by decision of Congress and are intended to facilitate the application of Technical Regulations to specific fields. Annexes may contain both standard and recommended practices and procedures. 10. Texts called appendices, appearing in the Technical Regulations or in an annex to the Technical Regulations, have the same status as the Regulations to which they refer. Status of notes and attachments 11. Certain notes (preceded by the indication Note ) are included in the Technical Regulations for explanatory purposes; they may, for instance, refer to relevant WMO Guides and publications. These notes do not have the status of Technical Regulations. 12. The Technical Regulations may also include attachments, which usually contain detailed guidelines related to standard and recommended practices and procedures. Attachments, however, do not have regulatory status. Updating of the Technical Regulations and their annexes (Manuals) 13. The Technical Regulations are updated, as necessary, in the light of developments in meteorology and hydrology and related techniques, and in the application of meteorology and operational hydrology. Certain principles previously agreed upon by Congress and applied in the selection of material for inclusion in the Technical Regulations are reproduced below. These principles provide guidance for constituent bodies, in particular technical commissions, when dealing with matters pertaining to the Technical Regulations: Technical commissions should not recommend that a Regulation be a standard practice unless it is supported by a strong majority;
GENERAL PROVISIONS xi (b) (c) (d) Technical Regulations should contain appropriate instructions to Members regarding implementation of the provision in question; No major changes should be made to the Technical Regulations without consulting the appropriate technical commissions; Any amendments to the Technical Regulations submitted by Members or by constituent bodies should be communicated to all Members at least three months before they are submitted to Congress. 14. Amendments to the Technical Regulations as a rule are approved by Congress. 15. If a recommendation for an amendment is made by a session of the appropriate technical commission and if the new regulation needs to be implemented before the next session of Congress, the Executive Council may, on behalf of the Organization, approve the amendment in accordance with Article 14 (c) of the Convention. Amendments to annexes to the Technical Regulations proposed by the appropriate technical commissions are normally approved by the Executive Council. 16. If a recommendation for an amendment is made by the appropriate technical commission and the implementation of the new regulation is urgent, the President of the Organization may, on behalf of the Executive Council, take action as provided by Regulation 9 (5) of the General Regulations. Note: A simple (fast-track) procedure may be used for amendments to technical specifications in Annexes II (Manual on Codes (WMO-No. 306)), III (Manual on the Global Telecommunication System (WMO-No. 386)), IV (Manual on the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System (WMO-No. 485)), V (Manual on the Global Observing System (WMO-No. 544)), VII (Manual on the WMO Information System (WMO-No. 1060)) and VIII (Manual on the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WMO-No. 1160)). Application of the simple (fast-track) procedure is defined in the appendix to these General Provisions. 17. After each session of Congress (every four years), a new edition of the Technical Regulations, including the amendments approved by Congress, is issued. With regard to the amendments between sessions of Congress, Volumes I and III of the Technical Regulations are updated, as necessary, upon approval of changes thereto by the Executive Council. The Technical Regulations updated as a result of an approved amendment by the Executive Council are considered a new update of the current edition. The material in Volume II is prepared by the World Meteorological Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization working in close cooperation, in accordance with the Working Arrangements agreed by these Organizations. In order to ensure consistency between Volume II and Annex 3 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation, the issuance of amendments to Volume II is synchronized with the respective amendments to Annex 3 by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Note: Editions are identified by the year of the respective session of Congress whereas updates are identified by the year of approval by the Executive Council, for example Updated in 2012. WMO Guides 18. In addition to the Technical Regulations, appropriate Guides are published by the Organization. They describe practices, procedures and specifications which Members are invited to follow or implement in establishing and conducting their arrangements for compliance with the Technical Regulations, and in otherwise developing meteorological and hydrological services in their respective countries. The Guides are updated, as necessary, in the light of scientific and
xii MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM technological developments in hydrometeorology, climatology and their applications. The technical commissions are responsible for the selection of material to be included in the Guides. These Guides and their subsequent amendments shall be considered by the Executive Council.
GENERAL PROVISIONS xiii APPENDIX. PROCEDURES FOR AMENDING WMO MANUALS AND GUIDES THAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMMISSION FOR BASIC SYSTEMS 1. DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBLE COMMITTEES The Commission for Basic Systems (CBS) shall, for each Manual and Guide, designate one of its Open Programme Area Groups (OPAGs) as being responsible for that Manual and its associated technical guides. The Open Programme Area Group may choose to designate one of its Expert Teams as the designated committee for managing changes to all or part of that Manual; if no Expert Team is designated, the Implementation Coordination Team for the OPAG takes on the role of the designated committee. 2. GENERAL VALIDATION AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES 2.1 Proposal of amendments Amendments to a Manual or a Guide managed by CBS shall be proposed in writing to the Secretariat. The proposal shall specify the needs, purposes and requirements and include information on a contact point for technical matters. 2.2 Drafting recommendation The designated committee for the relevant part of a Manual or a Guide, supported by the Secretariat, shall validate the stated requirement (unless it is consequential to an amendment to the WMO Technical Regulations) and develop a draft recommendation to respond to the requirement, as appropriate. 2.3 Procedures for approval After a draft recommendation of the designated committee is validated in accordance with the procedure given in section 7 below, depending on the type of amendments, the designated committee should select one of the following procedures for the approval of the amendments: Simple (fast-track) procedure (see section 3 below); (b) Standard (adoption of amendments between CBS sessions) procedure (see section 4 below); (c) Complex (adoption of amendments during CBS sessions) procedure (see section 5 below). 2.4 Date of implementation The designated committee should define an implementation date in order to give WMO Members sufficient time to implement the amendments after the date of notification. For procedures other than the simple (fast-track) one, if the time between the date of notification and implementation date is less than six months, the designated committee shall document the reasons for its decision.
xiv MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM 2.5 Urgent introduction Regardless of the above procedures, as an exceptional measure, the following procedure accommodates urgent user needs to introduce elements in lists of technical details, or to correct errors: (b) (c) (d) A draft recommendation developed by the designated committee shall be validated according to the steps defined in section 7 below; The draft recommendation for pre-operational use of a list entry, which can be used in operational data and products, shall be approved by the chairperson of the designated committee and the chairperson of the responsible OPAG, and the president of CBS. A listing of pre-operational list entries is kept online on the WMO web server; Pre-operational list entries shall then be submitted for approval by one of the procedures in 2.3 above for operational use; Any version numbers associated with the technical implementation should be incremented at the least significant level. 2.6 Issuing updated version Once amendments to a Manual or a Guide are adopted, an updated version of the relevant part of the Manual shall be issued in the languages agreed for its publication. The Secretariat shall inform all Members of the availability of a new updated version of that part at the date of notification mentioned in 2.4 above. If amendments are not incorporated into the published text of the relevant Manual or Guide at the time of the amendment, there should be a mechanism to publish the amendments at the time of their implementation and to retain a permanent record of the sequence of amendments. 3. SIMPLE (FAST-TRACK) PROCEDURE 3.1 Scope The simple (fast-track) procedure shall be used only for changes to components of the Manual that have been designated and marked as technical specifications to which the simple (fasttrack) procedure for the approval of amendments may be applied. Note: An example would be the addition of code list items in the Manual on Codes (WMO-No. 306). 3.2 Endorsement Draft recommendations developed by the responsible committee, including a date for implementation of the amendments, shall be submitted to the chairperson of the relevant OPAG for endorsement. 3.3 Approval 3.3.1 Minor adjustments Correcting typographical errors in descriptive text is considered a minor adjustment, and will be done by the Secretariat in consultation with the president of CBS. See Figure 1.
GENERAL PROVISIONS xv Designated committee Chairperson of OPAG President of CBS (in consultation with presidents of technical commissions) Figure 1. Adoption of amendments to a Manual by minor adjustment 3.3.2 Other types of amendments For other types of amendments, the English version of the draft recommendation, including a date of implementation, should be distributed to the focal points for matters concerning the relevant Manual for comments, with a deadline of two months for the reply. It should then be submitted to the president of CBS for consultation with presidents of technical commissions affected by the change. If endorsed by the president of CBS, the change should be passed to the President of WMO for consideration and adoption on behalf of the Executive Council (EC). 3.3.3 Frequency The implementation of amendments approved through the simple (fast-track) procedure can be twice a year in May and November. See Figure 2. 4. STANDARD (ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS BETWEEN CBS SESSIONS) PROCEDURE 4.1 Scope The standard (adoption of amendments between CBS sessions) procedure shall be used for changes that have an operational impact on those Members who do not wish to exploit the change, but that have only minor financial impact, or that are required to implement changes in the Technical Regulations (WMO-No. 49), Volume II Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation. 4.2 Approval of draft recommendations For the direct adoption of amendments between CBS sessions, the draft recommendation developed by the designated committee, including a date of implementation of the amendments, shall be submitted to the chairperson of the responsible OPAG and president and vice-president of CBS for approval. The president of CBS shall consult with the presidents of technical commissions affected by the change. In the case of recommendations in response Designated committee Chairperson of OPAG Focal points for matters concerning the Manual President of CBS (in consultation with presidents of technical commissions) and then to the President of WMO Figure 2. Adoption of amendments to a Manual by simple (fast-track) procedure
xvi MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM to changes in the Technical Regulations (WMO-No. 49), Volume II Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation, the president of CBS shall consult with the president of the Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology. 4.3 Circulation to Members Upon approval of the president of CBS, the Secretariat sends the recommendation to all Members, in the languages in which the Manual is published, including a date of implementation of the amendments, for comments to be submitted within two months following the dispatch of the amendments. If the recommendation is sent to Members via electronic mail, there shall be public announcement of the amendment process including dates, for example by WMO Operational Newsletter on the WMO website, to ensure all relevant Members are informed. 4.4 Agreement Those Members not having replied within the two months following the dispatch of the amendments are implicitly considered as having agreed with the amendments. 4.5 Coordination Members are invited to designate a focal point responsible to discuss any comments/ disagreements with the designated committee. If the discussion between the designated committee and the focal point cannot result in an agreement on a specific amendment by a Member, this amendment will be reconsidered by the designated committee. If a Member cannot agree that the financial or operational impact is minor, the redrafted amendment shall be approved by the complex (adoption of amendments during CBS sessions) procedure described in section 5 below. 4.6 Notification Once amendments are agreed by Members, and after consultation with the chairperson of the responsible OPAG, the vice-president of CBS and the president of CBS (who should consult with presidents of other commissions affected by the change), the Secretariat notifies at the same time the Members and the members of the Executive Council of the approved amendments and of the date of their implementation. See Figure 3. Chairperson of OPAG Designated committee and president/ vice-president of CBS in consultation with presidents of technical commissions Agreed by WMO Members WMO Members and EC informed Figure 3. Adoption of amendments between CBS sessions
GENERAL PROVISIONS xvii 5. COMPLEX (ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS DURING CBS SESSIONS) PROCEDURE 5.1 Scope The complex (adoption of amendments during CBS sessions) procedure shall be used for changes for which the simple (fast-track) procedure or standard (adoption of amendments between CBS sessions) procedure cannot be applied. 5.2 Procedure For the adoption of amendments during CBS sessions, the designated committee submits its recommendation, including a date of implementation of the amendments, to the Implementation Coordination Team of the responsible Open Programme Area Group. The recommendation is then passed to the presidents of technical commissions affected by the change for consultation, and to a CBS session that shall be invited to consider comments submitted by presidents of technical commissions. The document for the CBS session shall be distributed not later than 45 days before the opening of the session. Following the CBS session, the recommendation shall then be submitted to a session of the Executive Council for decision. See Figure 4. 6. PROCEDURE FOR THE CORRECTION OF EXISTING MANUAL CONTENTS 6.1 Correcting errors in items within Manuals Where a minor error in the specification of an item that defines elements within a Manual is found, for example, a typing error or an incomplete definition, the item shall be amended and re-published. Any version numbers associated with items edited as a result of the change should be incremented at their lowest level of significance. If, however, the change has an impact on the meaning of the item, then a new item should be created and the existing (erroneous) item marked as deprecated. This situation is considered a minor adjustment according to 3.3.1 above. Note: An example of an item for which this type of change applies is a code list entry for the Table Driven Code Forms or WMO Core Metadata Profile, in which the description contains typographical errors that can be corrected without changing the meaning of the description. Designated committee Meeting of Implementation Coordination Team of responsible OPAG CBS session EC session Consult presidents of technical commissions affected by the change Figure 4. Adoption of amendments during CBS sessions
xviii MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM 6.2 Correcting an error in the specification of how conformance with the requirements of the Manual can be checked If an erroneous specification of a conformance-checking rule is found, the preferred approach is to add a new specification using the simple (fast-track) procedure or standard (adoption of amendments between CBS sessions) procedure. The new conformance-checking rule should be used instead of the old. An appropriate explanation shall be added to the description of the conformance-checking rule to clarify the practice along with the date of the change. Note: Profile. An example of such a change would be correcting a conformance-checking rule in the WMO Core Metadata 6.3 Submission of corrections to errors Such changes shall be submitted through the simple (fast-track) procedure. 7. VALIDATION PROCEDURE 7.1 Documentation of need and purpose The need for, and the purpose of, the proposal for changes should be documented. 7.2 Documentation of result This documentation shall include the results of validation testing of the proposal as described in 7.3 below. 7.3 Testing with relevant applications For changes that have an impact on automated processing systems, the extent of the testing required before validation should be decided by the designated committee on a case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of the change. Changes involving a relatively high risk and/ or impact on the systems should be tested by the use of at least two independently developed tool sets and two independent centres. In that case, results should be made available to the designated committee with a view to verifying the technical specifications.
INTRODUCTION General 1. The Manual on the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System (WMO-No. 485) is the single source of technical regulations for all operational data-processing and forecasting systems of Members designated by WMO as meteorological centres. The Manual is designed to ensure adequate uniformity and standardization of data, information and production practices, procedures and specifications employed among WMO Members in the operation of the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System (GDPFS) as it supports the mission of the Organization. 2. The Manual is Annex IV to the WMO Technical Regulations (Technical Regulations (WMO-No. 49), Volume I General Meteorological Standards and Recommended Practices), in which it is stated that GDPFS is established and shall be operated in accordance with the practices, procedures and specifications described in the present Manual. 3. The Global Data-processing and Forecasting System cuts across a number of WMOrelated disciplines. It intersects many WMO practices, procedures and specifications that are primarily defined in publications dedicated specifically to them, for example, the Manual on the WMO Information System (WMO-No. 1060) and the Manual on the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WMO-No. 1160). 4. The advances in numerical weather prediction (NWP) in the last few decades have been tremendous: higher accuracy and resolution, longer lead time, and a wider range of relevant applications. Consequently the emphasis in operational meteorology, hydrology and climatology has been shifting towards the implementation of increasingly sophisticated and diverse numerical models and applications, for an ever-increasing variety of users. GDPFS enables Members to make use of these advances by providing a framework for the sharing of data related to operational meteorology, hydrology and climatology. 5. As part of the WMO Technical Regulations, the Manual on the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System sets out standard and recommended practices and procedures. The General Provisions, included in this publication, define the meaning of the phrase standard and recommended practices and procedures. The General Provisions also contain information on the procedure for amending, updating or issuing a new edition of the Technical Regulations (including Manuals and Guides). 6. This edition has been developed in accordance with quality management principles, which ensures its sustainability as part of the WMO Quality Management Framework. How to read this Manual 7. The Manual consists of three Parts, as follows: (b) (c) Part I: Outline of WMO GDPFS presenting the overall purpose of GDPFS, its organization and the general characteristics of the various activities to be performed; Part II: Specifications of GDPFS activities providing detailed information on the various activities: mandatory functions including production, verification and documentation; and additional recommended functions and products. Part II also specifies overall requirements applicable to all types of activities regarding dissemination, verification, training, and the like; Part III: Current designated GDPFS centres.
xx MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM 8. The reader seeking general information on GDPFS and its applications should refer to Part I, whereas Parts II and III provide detailed information on the various components of the system, available products and information, status of implementation, as well as compliance criteria. 9. The Manual is designed so that it can be modified as frequently as necessary to keep it up to date. While Part I should be rather stable and seldom require updating, it is expected that the evolution of science, techniques and user requirements will continue to induce developments requiring frequent changes to Parts II and III. 10. In line with quality management requirements, the bodies in charge of managing the information contained in the Manual are explicitly specified for every type of GDPFS activity. This information is contained in Part II, 2.2, Tables 2 23. The following explanations and example (Table 1) are provided: (b) (c) The three entries under Changes to activity specification indicate the team(s) and body(ies) in charge of preparing specification updates, approving them, and deciding to update the Manual accordingly; The two entries under Centres designation indicate the bodies responsible for approving the designation of a GDPFS centre for the activity under consideration and for deciding accordingly; The two entries under Compliance indicate the team(s) and body(ies) in charge of ensuring that the designated GDPFS centres remain compliant with the activity specification. Table 1. Example of a table specifying responsibilities for modifications to a GDPFS activity, for designation of centres and review of compliance To be proposed by: To be recommended by: To be decided by: To be recommended by: To be decided by: To be monitored by: CBS/ET-OWFPS CBS EC/Congress CBS EC/Congress CBS/ET-OWFPS Responsibility Changes to activity specification Centres designation Compliance To be reported to: CBS/ICT-DPFS CBS Acronyms not previously defined: EC WMO Executive Council; ET-OWFPS Expert Team on Operational Weather Forecasting Process and Support; ICT-DPFS Implementation Coordination Team on Data-processing and Forecasting Systems. 11. The following procedure is applied for the incorporation of new types of GDPFS centres into this Manual: (b) The relevant technical commission or programme expert team will develop the criteria and functions for the new type of centre, including the list of mandatory products to be made available in the context of GDPFS; The criteria and functions for the new type of centre will be endorsed by the relevant technical commission management group or programme steering committee, and submitted to CBS through its president;
INTRODUCTION xxi (c) The president of CBS will then decide on an expert team of the commission that will be responsible for reviewing the proposal according to the standard procedure for amendments as defined in the General Provisions.
PART I. OUTLINE OF THE WMO GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM 1.1 PURPOSE AND SUPPORTED ACTIVITIES 1.1.1 General description 1.1.1.1 The Global Data-processing and Forecasting System shall be the worldwide network of operational centres operated by WMO Members. Its purpose shall be to make operationally available among WMO Members and relevant operational organizations defined products and services for applications related to weather, climate, water and environment. 1.1.1.2 The Global Data-processing and Forecasting System shall enable scientific and technological advances made in meteorology and related fields to be accessible and exploitable by WMO Members. 1.1.1.3 The activities, organizational structure and operations of GDPFS shall be systematically designed in accordance with Members needs and their ability to contribute to, and benefit from, the system in an efficient manner and with a minimum of duplication. 1.1.1.4 A key objective of GDPFS should be to facilitate cooperation and the exchange of information, thereby also contributing to capacity development among developing countries. 1.1.1.5 Defined products and services for applications related to weather, climate, water and environment shall include: (b) Numerical weather, oceanographic and climate prediction products (analysis and forecast, including probabilistic information); Specialized products tailored for specific applications. 1.1.1.6 Additional information necessary for an appropriate use of the identified products and services shall be available. This includes non-real-time information as follows: (b) (c) Systems description and characteristics; Product metadata; Verification and monitoring results. 1.1.2 Activities supported by the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System 1.1.2.1 Through GDPFS, Members shall provide and have access to meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic and climatological information supporting a range of operational activities. 1.1.2.2 The Global Data-processing and Forecasting System shall be organized as a three-tier system of activities as follows: Note: A distinction is made between general-purpose and specialized activities: general-purpose activities are those that encompass essential data processing required for a wide range of end use, while specialized activities are those that make forecasting products, which may include guidance based on human interpretation, tailored for a specific
2 MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM type of application or user community. In addition to these activities conducted in real time, non-real-time operational coordination activities are also part of GDPFS. Associated commitments and other appropriate details are specified in Part II. General-purpose activities: Global deterministic NWP Limited-area deterministic NWP Global ensemble NWP Limited-area ensemble NWP Global numerical long-range prediction Numerical ocean wave prediction Global numerical ocean prediction Nowcasting (b) Specialized activities: Regional climate prediction and monitoring Coordination of multi-model ensemble prediction for long-range forecasts (LRFs) Annual to decadal climate prediction Coordination of annual to decadal climate prediction Regional severe weather forecasting Tropical cyclone forecasting, including marine-related hazards Nuclear environmental emergency response Non-nuclear environmental emergency response Atmospheric sandstorm and duststorm forecasts Volcano watch services for international air navigation Marine meteorological services Marine environmental emergency response (c) Non-real-time coordination activities: Coordination of deterministic NWP verification (DNV) Coordination of Ensemble Prediction System (EPS) verification Coordination of LRF verification Coordination of wave forecast verification (WFV) Coordination of tropical cyclone forecast verification (TCFV) Coordination of observation monitoring Note: It is hoped that other activities, including those related to hydrology, agriculture, polar regions, storm-surge prediction, and space weather, will be developed in future. 1.2 GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM CENTRES 1.2.1 Definitions 1.2.1.1 The meteorological forecasting ranges shall be those defined in Appendix 1.1. 1.2.1.2 The Global Data-processing and Forecasting System shall be organized as a three-level system of World Meteorological Centres (WMCs), Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) and National Meteorological Centres (NMCs), which carry out GDPFS functions at the global, regional and national levels, respectively. These centres are referred to as GDPFS centres. 1.2.2 National Meteorological Centres 1.2.2.1 An NMC shall carry out functions to meet the national and international requirements of the Member concerned.
PART I. OUTLINE OF THE WMO GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM 3 Note: To fulfil their national and international obligations, NMCs need to be adequately staffed and equipped to enable them to participate effectively in the World Weather Watch system. 1.2.2.2 The functions of an NMC shall include the preparation of forecasts and warnings at all forecasting ranges necessary to meet the requirements of the Member. 1.2.2.3 Depending on the context, other activities of an NMC should include the production of: (b) Special-application products, including climate and environmental quality monitoring and prediction products; Non-real-time climate-related products. 1.2.3 Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres 1.2.3.1 A Member, having accepted the responsibility for providing an RSMC, shall arrange for this centre to carry out operationally at least one of the general-purpose or specialized activities listed in 1.1.2.2, for which specified standards are described in Part II. 1.2.3.2 An RSMC for general-purpose activities should provide products that an RSMC carrying out at least one of the specialized activities considers necessary and makes a request to produce. Notes: 1. The designation as RSMC does not preclude the use of other names as defined in other contexts, for example, Global Producing Centre for long-range forecasts (GPC-LRF). 2. An RSMC that leads a coordination activity is also referred to as a Lead Centre. 1.2.4 World Meteorological Centres A Member, having accepted the responsibility for providing a WMC, shall arrange for this centre to carry out operationally at least the following activities, for which specified standards are described in Part II: (b) (c) Global deterministic NWP; Global ensemble NWP; Global numerical long-range prediction. 1.2.5 Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre Networks 1.2.5.1 An RSMC Network (an association of RSMCs participating in an identified activity of GDPFS) shall follow the same specifications and adhere to the same criteria and commitments as individual RSMCs carrying out the same activity. 1.2.5.2 Appropriate documentation shall be produced and made available by Members having accepted the responsibility to contribute to the RSMC Network to distribute the tasks and responsibilities among the participating RSMCs. A unique focal point shall be designated to answer requests from users of the RSMC Network products. 1.2.6 Designation process 1.2.6.1 Each Member shall designate an NMC.
4 MANUAL ON THE GLOBAL DATA-PROCESSING AND FORECASTING SYSTEM 1.2.6.2 The WMCs, RSMCs and RSMC Networks shall be designated by a decision of the World Meteorological Congress or the WMO Executive Council. The designation of such centres shall include the specification of the activity and function (or activities and functions) to be carried out. 1.2.6.3 Requests for designation as a WMC or RSMC shall be put forward by the Permanent Representative of the country of the candidate centre, or, in the case of international organizations, by either the Permanent Representative of the country where the candidate centre is located or the president of the relevant regional association(s) (RA(s)). 1.2.6.4 Requests for designation as an RSMC Network shall be put forward by the president of the relevant RA, or, in the case of networks established across two or more RAs, jointly by their presidents. Note: Centres constituting a network will organize themselves as appropriate, depending on their own context and specificities, so as to ensure that the documentation requested as per paragraph 1.2.5.2 is available. 1.2.6.5 Requests for designation shall be addressed to the WMO Secretariat, which will forward them to the relevant constituent bodies as indicated in Tables 2 23 in Part II of the present Manual. Supporting information demonstrating compliance with designation criteria shall be included with the request. 1.2.6.6 Depending on the type of activity, endorsement by the RA(s) and technical commission(s) should be required before designation by the World Meteorological Congress or WMO Executive Council. 1.3 COORDINATION WITH OTHER SYSTEMS OR PROGRAMMES The Global Data-processing and Forecasting System shall support all WMO Programmes and related programmes of other international organizations in accordance with decisions of the Organization. Notes: 1. In many cases the activities undertaken by GDPFS centres constitute the operational component of a system developed under another structure or programme, either by WMO on its own or jointly with other international organizations. In such cases the regulations pertaining to these activities cover both: The specific requirements defined by the relevant structure; (b) The general GDPFS criteria regarding operational quality and reliability, verification, documentation and compliance (described in Part II of the present Manual). 2. Coordination mechanisms appropriate for the context and characteristics of the various categories of activity are specified in Part II.
APPENDIX 1.1. DEFINITIONS OF METEOROLOGICAL FORECASTING RANGES 1. Nowcasting A description of current weather parameters and of forecasted weather parameters 0 to 2 hours ahead 2. Very short-range weather forecasting 3. Short-range weather forecasting 4. Medium-range weather forecasting 5. Extended-range weather forecasting A description of weather parameters up to 12 hours ahead A description of weather parameters from 12 to 72 hours ahead A description of weather parameters from 72 to 240 hours ahead A description of weather parameters from 10 to 30 days ahead, usually averaged and expressed as a departure from climate values for that period 6. Long-range forecasting From 30 days up to two years 6.1 Monthly outlook Description of averaged weather parameters expressed as a departure (deviation, variation, anomaly) from climate values for that month (not necessarily the coming month) 6.2 Three-month or 90-day outlook Description of averaged weather parameters expressed as a departure from climate values for that 90-day period (not necessarily the coming 90-day period) 6.3 Seasonal outlook Description of averaged weather parameters expressed as a departure from climate values for that season Notes: 1. In some countries, LRFs are considered to be climate products. 2. Season has been loosely defined as December/January/February = Winter; March/April/May = Spring; etc., in the northern hemisphere. In the tropical areas seasons may have different durations. Outlooks spanning several months, such as multi-seasonal or tropical rainy season outlooks, may be provided. 7. Climate forecasting Beyond two years 7.1 Annual to decadal climate prediction Description of the expected climate parameters associated with the variation of interannual, decadal and multi-decadal climate anomalies 7.2 Climate prediction Description of expected future climate including the effects of both natural and human influences